Sasee Magazine

I slowly unlock the door to my residence. It’s late and already pitch black outside. As I tip toe inside and lock the dead bolt you could hear a pin drop. I look into the first room on the left and it literally looks like it has been ransacked. The rest of the house is spotless – suddenly I hear a loud “ROAR!!!!” My 2 year old and 4 year old sons jump out from around the corner dressed in their Halloween costumes (mind you it’s been months since Halloween). As I fall to the ground, pretending to be scared out of my wits, the oldest son says “Daddy… did we scare the ‘BEJESUS’ out of you” And in my most convincing, terrified and quivering voice I say, “Holy cow… you scared me to death.” My wife is laughing hysterically. In a nutshell my beautiful wife and amazing boys know how to have fun.

I feel the same way about food. My favorite shrimp dish is inspired by my fun loving family. So get ready to roll up your sleeves, have a few moist towelettes on hand, and enjoy making and devouring this dish in the comfort of your own home.

Sweet and Spicy Peel and Eat Shrimp

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ cup of softened unsalted butter

1 tsp. freshly chopped garlic

½ tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 ripened navel orange

1 pound deveined shell-on shrimp

Salt and pepper to taste

I personally love Royal Red Shrimp which are U10. U10 simply means that there are 10 shrimp to every pound. They are huge and melt like butter in your mouth.

Pour the ¼ cup of vegetable oil into a sauté pan on medium heat. Pat your shrimp dry and place them in the sauté pan. You want to make sure you hear the sizzle. When one side of the shrimp is caramelized, flip them over and add your garlic. Be sure not to burn your garlic. You want the garlic to be a golden brown. Add the chili powder and crushed pepper into your sauté pan and allow the chili powder to brown a little. Then squeeze the juice out of your orange into the pan.

This is the most important step. After the orange juice simmers, immediately turn off the heat and add your softened butter. It is important that you stir the butter in so it doesn’t break. If it breaks you’ll have a layer of grease in the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste, roll up your sleeves, put on your paper towel bib and enjoy.

I truly hope that you and your guests enjoy this dish as much as my family and I do. If I can convince one person to get messy and enjoy their food then I think I’ve made a difference in this world.